34. Welcomes the development package adopted in Hong Kong, although less ambitious than expected; regrets, however, that the duty and quota free access for LDC products to markets, excluding 3% of tariff lines that cover some crucial products for the poor countries, substantially reduces the benefits for the LDCs; calls on all developed and advanced developing countries to follow the model of the EU "everything but arms" initiative in guaranteeing 100% duty and quota-free market access for LDCs; calls on the EU and the LDCs to stri ...[+++]ve jointly to achieve 100% duty and quota-free market access for LDCs in developed and advanced developing countries;

34. Welcomes the development package adopted in Hong Kong, although less ambitious than expected; regrets, however, that the duty and quota free access for LDC products to markets, excluding 3% of tariff lines that cover some crucial products for the poor countries, substantially reduces the benefits for the LDCs; calls on all developed and advanced developing countries to follow the model of the EU "everything but arms" initiative in guaranteeing 100% duty and quota-free market access for LDCs; calls on the EU and the LDCs to stri ...[+++]ve jointly to achieve 100% duty and quota-free market access for LDCs in developed and advanced developing countries;

The main elements of my development proposal which I first made at the Zurich mini-ministerial in October and for which I have been pressing since are: first, all industrialised WTO members should commit to providing duty- and quota-free access to all products from the least developed countries; second, we should adopt a package of special and differential treatment proposals to confirm the flexibilities for those LDCs that exist in the WTO; third, we must enshrine in the WTO’s intellectual property agreements conditions for better access to cheap drugs against pandemics; and fourth, we should adopt a strong aid for trade package alon ...[+++]g the lines of what was agreed at the Gleneagles G8 Summit.

In addition, our officials indicated a quota-free access to our market is really important.

But I think in a generalized kind of way it is clear that the European Union, in their initiative, is ahead of the United States, Japan, and Canada, because they have gone duty-free, quota-free.

Does the Commission intend to honour its obligation under the Cotonou Agreement to consult ACP countries, and undertake country and sector specific impact studies, before the Council takes a decision on the Commission's proposals to grant duty-free, and quota-free, access to the European market for all products, except armaments, from the world's 48 least and less developed countries?